12:26 The righteous person is cautious in his friendship, 1
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
The Lover to His Beloved:
4:1 Oh, 3 you are beautiful, my darling! 4
Oh, you are beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are like doves. 5
Your hair is like a flock of female goats
descending 6 from Mount Gilead.
4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheep
coming up from the washing place; 7
each of them has a twin,
and not one of them is missing.
4:3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread; 8
your mouth is lovely.
Your forehead 9 behind your veil
is like a slice of pomegranate.
4:4 Your neck is like the tower 10 of David
built with courses of stones; 11
one thousand shields are hung on it –
all shields of valiant warriors. 12
4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of the gazelle
grazing among the lilies.
4:6 Until the dawn arrives 13
and the shadows flee,
I will go up to the mountain of myrrh,
and to the hill of frankincense.
4:7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling!
There is no blemish in you!
4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of the leopards.
4:9 You have stolen my heart, 14 my sister, 15 my bride!
You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, 16
with one jewel of your necklace.
4:10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine;
the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice!
4:11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride,
honey and milk are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
The Lover to His Beloved:
4:12 You are a locked garden, 17 my sister, my bride;
you are an enclosed spring, a sealed-up fountain.
4:13 Your shoots are a royal garden 18 full of pomegranates
with choice fruits:
henna with nard,
4:14 nard and saffron;
calamus and cinnamon with every kind of spice,
myrrh and aloes with all the finest spices. 19
4:15 You are a garden spring, 20
a well 21 of fresh water 22 flowing down from Lebanon.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
4:16 Awake, O north wind; come, O south wind!
Blow on my garden so that its fragrant spices may send out their sweet smell. 23
May my beloved come into his garden
and eat its delightful fruit!
The Lover to His Beloved:
5:1 I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk!
The Poet to the Couple: 24
Eat, friends, and drink! 25
Drink freely, O lovers!
The Beloved about Her Lover:
5:2 I was asleep, but my mind 26 was dreaming. 27
Listen! 28 My lover 29 is knocking 30 at the door! 31
The Lover to His Beloved:
“Open 32 for me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my flawless one!
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
The Beloved to Her Lover:
5:3 “I have already taken off my robe – must I put it on again?
I have already washed my feet – must I soil them again?”
5:4 My lover thrust his hand 33 through 34 the hole, 35
and my feelings 36 were stirred 37 for him.
5:5 I arose to open for my beloved;
my hands dripped with myrrh –
my fingers flowed with myrrh
on the handles of the lock.
5:6 I opened for my beloved,
but my lover had already turned 38 and gone away. 39
I fell into despair 40 when he departed. 41
I looked for him but did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me.
5:7 The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city.
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak, those watchmen on the walls!
The Beloved to the Maidens:
5:8 O maidens of Jerusalem, I command you –
If you find my beloved, what will you tell him?
Tell him that I am lovesick! 42
The Maidens to The Beloved:
5:9 Why is your beloved better than others, 43
O most beautiful of women?
Why is your beloved better than others,
that you would command us in this manner?
The Beloved to the Maidens:
5:10 My beloved 44 is dazzling 45 and ruddy; 46
he stands out 47 in comparison to 48 all other men. 49
5:11 His head is like the most pure gold. 50
His hair is curly 51 – black like a raven.
5:12 His eyes are like doves by streams of water,
washed in milk, mounted like jewels.
5:13 His cheeks are like garden beds full of balsam trees 52 yielding 53 perfume.
His lips are like lilies dripping with drops of myrrh.
5:14 His arms are like rods of gold set with chrysolite.
His abdomen 54 is like polished ivory inlaid with sapphires.
5:15 His legs are like pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.
5:16 His mouth is very sweet; 55
he is totally desirable. 56
This is my beloved!
This is my companion, O maidens of Jerusalem!
The Maidens to the Beloved:
6:1 Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned?
Tell us, 57 that we may seek him with you. 58
The Beloved to the Maidens:
6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden, 59
to the flowerbeds of balsam spices, 60
to graze 61 in the gardens,
and to gather lilies. 62
The Beloved about Her Lover:
6:3 I am my lover’s 63 and my lover is mine; 64
he grazes among the lilies.
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, 65
as lovely as Jerusalem, 66
as awe-inspiring 67 as bannered armies!
6:5 Turn your eyes away from me –
they overwhelm 68 me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Mount Gilead.
6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing;
each has its twin;
not one of them is missing.
6:7 Like a slice of pomegranate
is your forehead 69 behind your veil.
6:8 There may be sixty 70 queens,
and eighty concubines,
and young women 71 without number.
6:9 But she is unique! 72
My dove, my perfect one!
She is the special daughter 73 of her mother,
she is the favorite 74 of the one who bore her.
The maidens 75 saw her and complimented her; 76
the queens and concubines praised her:
6:10 “Who 77 is this who appears 78 like the dawn? 79
Beautiful as the moon, 80 bright 81 as the sun,
awe-inspiring 82 as the stars in procession?” 83
The Lover to His Beloved: 84
6:11 I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, 85
to look for the blossoms of the valley, 86
to see if the vines had budded
or if the pomegranates were in bloom.
6:12 87 I was beside myself with joy! 88
There please give me your myrrh, 89
O daughter of my princely people. 90
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:13 (7:1) 91 Turn 92 , turn, O 93 Perfect One! 94
Turn, turn, that I 95 may stare at you!
The Beloved to Her Lover:
Why 96 do you gaze upon the Perfect One
like the dance of the Mahanaim? 97
The Lover to His Beloved:
7:1 (7:2) How beautiful are your sandaled 98 feet,
O nobleman’s daughter! 99
The curves 100 of your thighs 101 are like jewels,
the work of the hands of a master craftsman.
7:2 Your navel 102 is a round mixing bowl 103 –
may it never lack 104 mixed wine! 105
Your belly 106 is a mound of wheat,
encircled 107 by lilies.
7:3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
7:4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory. 108
Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-Rabbim. 109
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
overlooking Damascus.
7:5 Your head crowns 110 you like Mount Carmel. 111
The locks of your hair 112 are like royal tapestries 113 –
the king is held captive 114 in its tresses!
7:6 How beautiful you are! How lovely,
O love, 115 with your delights! 116
The Lover to His Beloved:
7:7 Your stature 117 is like a palm tree, 118
and your breasts are like clusters of grapes. 119
7:8 I want 120 to climb the palm tree, 121
and take hold of its fruit stalks.
May your breasts be like the clusters of grapes, 122
and may the fragrance of your breath be like apricots! 123
7:9 May your mouth 124 be like the best wine,
flowing smoothly for my beloved,
gliding gently over our lips as we sleep together. 125
The Beloved about Her Lover:
7:10 I am my beloved’s,
and he desires me! 126
The Beloved to Her Lover:
7:11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside;
let us spend the night in the villages.
7:12 Let us rise early to go to the vineyards,
to see if the vines have budded,
to see if their blossoms have opened,
if the pomegranates are in bloom –
there I will give you my love.
7:13 The mandrakes 127 send out their fragrance;
over our door is every delicacy, 128
both new and old, which I have stored up for you, my lover.